Stitch-separating machine.



No. 703,573. I Patented My 1, |9D2.

.1-. B. HADAWAY.

D STITCH :SEPABATING MACHINE. '(Applicatioze filed Sept, 30, 1901. Renewed May 24, 1902.)

( No Model.) r 4 Sheets-Sheet l.

No. 703,573. "Patented July |902 J. B. HADAWAY.

STITCH SEPARATING MACHINE.

(Application filed Sept, a0, 1001. Reneyed May 2&{ 19024 (No Model.) I 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Za zmess'ea a Inventor "m: Nnlms PETERS ca. wanna ma. wnsnmnruu. 0.1:.

Nq. 703,573. Patentedluly l, I902.

J. BQHADAWAY. STITCH SEPARATING MACHINE.

(4pplication filed Sept. 80, 1901. Renewed May 24, 1902.)

x 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(I0 Model.)

witnesses Jnanzm" In. 703,573. v Patented July I, I902. J. B. HADAWAY.

STITCH SEPABATING MACHINE. (Application filed Sept. 80, 1901'. Renewed Hay 24, 1902.) i 010 Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.-

wanewses UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC JOHN B. HADAWAY, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

STITCH-SEPARATINQ MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 703,573, dated July 1, 1902. Application filed September 30,1901. Renewed May 24, 1902. Serial No. 103,797. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. HADAWAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and State of lVIassachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stitch-Separating Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to stitch-separating machines which are used in the manufacture of boots and shoes to indent the intervals between the stitches appearing at the outer edge of the sole, and more particularly to stitch separating machines which are adapted to act on the boot or shoe after the seam has been finished. The stitches of the seam appearing at the edge of a boot or shoe sole vary more or less in length, and in several machines heretofore patented by me means are provided for compensating for these variations in the length of the stitches, whereby the indenting-tool is caused to accurately indent the intervals between the stitches; also, the average length of the stitches in shoes of difierent styles varies widely, and in the patented machines above referred to means are provided for adjusting the machines for operation upon seams the stitches of which are of different average length. a

The objects of the present invention are to produce a stitch-separating machine which will dothe work of prior machines in as satisfactory or in a superior manner and which at the same time will be capable of compensating for greater variations in the length of the stitches, to produce a machine which will be capable of operating upon seams having a greater difference in the average length of their stitches than can be compensated for by the adjusting mechanism of prior machines, toproduce a machine which will be capable without adjustment of operating upon seams having stitches of different average length, to produce a machine which will be rapid and efficient in operation and of compact and simple construction, and generally to improve the construction, organization,

and mode of operation of the various parts of a stitch-separating machine.

With these objects in view my invention contemplates utilizing the stitch intervals to control the actuation of the indenting-tool, whereby the indenting-tool is actuated only when the relative positions of the tool and a stitch interval are such as to cause the tool to properly indent the stitch interval when actuated.

So far as I am advised of the state of the art the mode of operation above suggested is broadly new and constitutes a radical departure from any principle which has been heretofore applied in this class of machines to provide for variations in stitch. lengths, and my invention therefore, broadly considered, consists in a stitch-separating machine provided with an indenting-tool and means controlled by the stitch intervals for actuating the tool to indent the stitch intervals irrespective of the construction or organization of such means, any means for securing this novel mode of operation being clearly within theiscope thereof.

My invention further consists of certain novel devices andcombinations of devices for producing a simple and'efficient form of stitch separating and indenting machine having the mode of operation above set forth, which devices and combinations of devices are in themselves novel and useful, and I do not consider my present invention as to these features to be limited except where such limitations are specifically recited in the claims. I desire to statein this connection that in so far as any devices-such, for example; as'the feed device hereinafter claimedare applicable to stitch-separating machines having a different mode of operation from thatabove set forth I desire to be under stood as claiming such devices irrespective of thecharacter of the stitch-separating machine with which they are employed. H

My invention will be understood from the 'drawings accompanying this application, in which is illustrated a stitch-separating machine embodying a preferred form of the same.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in end elevation of a stitch-separating machine embodying my invention, the main driving-shaft being shown in section and a portion of the frame being broken away to show the underlying parts. Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view. Fig. 4 is a detail view showing, in side elevation, a bracket forming a portion of the machineframe and the mechanism for actuating the indenting-tool to indent the stitch intervals. Fig. 5 is an end view of the parts shown in Fig. 4 looking from the right of the figure. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the bracket illustrated in Fig. 4, and Fig. '7 is a plan view of the lever for actuating the indenting-tool.

In the machine shown in the drawings the mechanism for actuating the indenting-tool to indent the stitch intervals consists of a cam loosely mounted upon a constantly-rotated shaft and a lever actuated by the cam connected to a sliding rod, to which the tool is secured. For controlling the operation of this mechanism by means of the stitch intervals a clutch is provided between the cam and its driving-shaft, and the rear end of the lever for actuating the indenting-tool is arranged to operate the clutch to connect the cam to its driving-shaft. Means are provided for supporting the work and feeding it past the indentingtool, which is held in contact with the work by means of a spring, and the lever for actuating the indenting tool is so arranged with relation to the clutch that the movement of the tool into a stitch interval under the influence of the spring imparts a movement to the lever sufficient to operate the clutch to connect the cam to its drivingshaft.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the base-plate of the machine-frame, which is mounted upon a suitable pedestal 2. A standard 3 projects upwardly from the front portion of the base-plate 1 of the machineframe and two standards 4 and 5 project upwardly from the rear portion. Journaled in the standards 4 and 5 are two shafts 6 and 7, the lower shaft 6 of which is the main driving-shaft, and is provided at one end with a hand-wheel 8 and at the other end with a driving-pulley 9. The shaft 7 is driven from the shaft 6 by means of a belt 10, which passes over pulleys 11 and 12, secured to the shafts 6 and 7, respectively. Secured to the shaft 6 between the standards 4 and 5 are two cams 13 and 14, which are provided with cam-grooves, by means of which the mechanism for feeding the work past the indentingtool and for locking and unlocking the worksupport is actuated, as will be hereinafter described.

A cam 15 is loosely mounted upon the shaft 7 and is provided with a cam-groove 16, said cam forming a portion of the mechanism for actuating the indenting-tool to indent the stitch intervals and the shaft 7 constituting a driving mechanism for the cam, normally disconnected therefrom. For connecting the cam 15 to the shaft 7 a clutch is provided, which may be described as follows:

Secured to the shaft 7 is a ratchet-Wheel 17, and secured to a sleeve projecting from the hub of the cam 15 isacollar 18, from the lower portion of which project two lugs 19 and 20. Between the lugs 19 and 20 is pivotally mounted a clutch-lever 21, the ends of which project beyond the lugs 19 and 20 on either side. A coiled spring 22, seated in recesses in the collar 18 and lever21, serves normally to hold one end of the lever out of the path of movement of the teeth of ratchet-wheel 17 and to press the other end against a stop-pin 23, which projects from the hub of the cam 15 and limits the movement of the lever 21 under the influence of the spring 22. The tension of spring 22 is such that when the lever 21 is moved into the path of the teeth of ratchet-wheel 17 it will be held in contact with the ratchet-wheel by friction and the cam 15 will be rotated until the lever 21 is actuated to disengage the teeth of the ratchetwheel.

In the construction shown in the drawings the lever for actuating the indenting-tool is utilized to actuate the clutch-lever 21 to move it into the path of the teeth of ratchet-wheel17. This lever is indicated at 24 and is pivotally mounted in the upper end of a bracket 25, secured to the top of the standard 3 and projecting upwardly and then horizontally toward the front of the machine. The rear end of the lever 24 is provided with a roll, which engages the cam-groove 16 of the cam 15, and is also provided with an extension 26, which extends laterally from the lever and then parallel therewith, as is clearly shown in Fig. 7.

The extension 26 is located beneath the end of lever 21, which engages the teeth of ratchetwheel 17 and acts to move the lever 21 into the path of the teeth of ratchet-wheel 17 when the rear end of lever 24 is raised. The camgroove 16 is slightly enlarged adjacent to the clutch-lever 21 to allow the rear end of the lever to be raised while the cam 15 is in the position shown in Fig. 4. The shape of the cam-groove 16 and the upper surface of the extension 26 is such that when the rear end of the lever 24 is raised the lever 21 is brought into the path of the teeth of ratchet-wheel 17 and during the first portion of the revolution of cam 15 is forced firmly into engagement with one of the teeth of the ratchet-wheel. During the revolution of the cam 15 the lever 24 is actuated to cause the indenting-tool to indent the work and then to raise the indenting-tool from the work and hold it raised until the feeding mechanism, to be hereinafter described, has fed the.work forward a sulficient distance to remove the indented switch interval from beneath the tool. During the movement of the lever 24 in raising the indenting-tool from the work the extension 26 is removed from contact with the clutch-lever 21; but the lever is retained in contact with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel by fric- IIO . face 28 is secured to or formed on one side of the cam which is arranged to contact with a braking surface 29, carried upon a bent spring-arm 30, secured to the upper end of the standard 5. The cam 15 is stopped and held in proper position at the end of its movement by means of a stop-pawl 31, pivotally mounted in a rearward extension of the bracket 25, which engages a notch cut in the periphery of the cam. This pawl is held in contact with the periphery of the cam during its revolution and finally forced into the notch by means of a coiled spring 32. Before the cam 15 is connected toits driving mechanism it is necessary that the stop-pawl 31 be moved out of the notch in the periphery of the cam, and in the construction shown in the drawings this is accomplished as follows: A link 33 is pivotally connected to the rear end of lever 24 and is connected to the pawl 31 by means of a pin 34, projecting from the pawl through a slot in the link, the slot-and-pin connection being for the purpose of allowing the link to move during the downward movement of the rear end of the lever 24 without actuating the pawl,which is yieldingly pressed against the periphery of the cam by the spring 32. The spring 32 is connected at one end to the pin 34 and at the other to thelower end of the link 33.

The front end of the lever 24 is slotted to receive a block 35, whichis pivotally secured to a rectangular bar 36, mounted to reciprocate in anoblique guideway formed'in the upper front portion of the bracket 25. To the lower end of the bar 36 the indenting-tool 37 is adjustably secured by means of the bolt 38. To the upper end of the rod 36 is secured a laterally-extending arm 39, through which an adjustable screw-threaded rod 40 passes. A coiled spring 41 connects the rod 40 with a pin 42, projecting from thebracket 25.

notch in the periphery of cam 15 and to bring the extension 26 into contact with the lever 21 and force the lever into the path of movement of the teeth of ratchet-wheel 17, the tension of spring 41 being sufticient'to overcome the tension of springs 22 and 32. The Work is supported beneath the indenting-tool and fed past the tool, as will be hereinafter described, so that the descent of the tool 37 is limited by contact with the work. As the work isfed past the tool thetool is held in its raised position, as indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, until a stitch interval is brought beneath the tool, when the tool isallowed to descend into a stitch interval. This movement is sufficient. to raise the rear end of lever 24 sufficiently to disengage the stop-pawl from the cam and connect the cam to its driving mechanism. ing the indenting-tool to indent the work is therefore thrown into operation only when a stitch interval has been brought into position to be acted upon by the tool and the tool has been located in a stitch interval. The action of the indenting-tool is thus controlled by the stitch intervals, and the machine can operate satisfactorily on a seam regardless of variations in the length of the individualstitches and regardless of the average length of the stitches.

The support for the workis indicated at 43 and is rotatably mounted upon the upper end of a slide 44, mounted in a vertical guideway in the front of the standard 3. The slide 44 is yieldingly supported by means of a coiled spring 45, surrounding a rod 46 and interposed between a projection 47 on the slide and a washer 48, resting upon the upper end of a screwthreaded sleeve 49. The sleeve 49 has an adjustable screw threaded connection with a bracket 50, secured to the standard 3, and the rod 46 is secured to the bracket 47 and extends downwardly through the sleeve 49. The upward movement of the slide 44 under the force of spring is limited by a stop 51, secured to the lower endof the rod 46. The lower end of the rod 46 is connected bya cord orwire to a treadle, (not shown,) by means of which the slide 44 and work-support 43, carried thereby, can be depressed to allow work to be inserted in and removed from the machine. For locking the work- .support against downward movement during the action of the tool in indenting the work and during the feeding of the work a locking-lever 52 is provided, pivoted at 53 on the standard 3 and provided at its rear end with a roll engaging a groove in the face of cam 14. Also pivoted M53 is a lever 54, the front end of which is slotted to receive a block 55, pivotally mounted in an opening in the slide 44 and the rear end of which is provided with a series of ratchet-teeth 56. A spring-pressed pawl 57 is mounted upon the lever 52 and is arranged to engage the ratchetteeth 56 when the lever 52 is lowered and .raise the work-support slightly and lock it in raised position.

The mechanism for actuat-' move itout of engagement with theratchetteeth 56 to unlock the work-support when the lever 52 is raised.

The feeding mechanism illustrated in the drawings comprises two feeding-jaws 59 and 60, located on opposite sides of the indentingtool. These jaws are secured to jaw-actuating levers 61 and 62, respectively, so as to oscillate in a vertical plane upon standards projecting upwardly from feeding-slides 63 and 64, mounted to reciprocate in horizontal guideways in the upper portion of the standard 3. For actuating the slides 63 and 64 feed-levers 65 and 66 are provided, pivoted upon the standard 3. The front end of the lever 65 is adj ustably connected to the feedslide 63 by means of a bolt 67, passing through slots in the lever and slide, and the front end of lever 66 is connected in a similar manner to the feed-slide 64. The rear ends of the levers are provided with rolls, which engage camgrooves formed in the peripheral surfaces of the cams 13 and 14. The construction of this feeding mechanism is such that four motions are imparted to the feedingjaws 59 and 60, these motions being the same as those imparted to an ordinary four-motion feeding device. The feeding-jaws 59 and 60 act alternately to feed the work, so that a nearly continuous feed movement is imparted to the work, the work remaining stationary, however, for a short period, while the worksupport is unlocked to allow the work-support to accommodate itself to varying thicknesses of the work.

The operation of the mechanism for actuating the indenting-tool has already been sufliciently described to be clearly understood, and further description thereof is considered unnecessary.

The operation of the feeding mechanism and the mechanism for locking and unlocking the work-support maybe briefly described, as follows: Starting with the parts in the position shown in the drawings, in which position the work-support is locked against downward movement, feeding-j aw 59 is down upon the work and in its extreme position to the right, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3, and feedingjaw 60 is down against the work and in its extreme position to the left. The work-support is first unlocked by the upward movement of lever 52 to allow the work-support to automatically adjust itself to the thickness of the work. After a brief interval the worksupport is locked in position by the downward movement of the lever 52. The feeding-jaw 60 is then raised from the work and moved toward the right, and simultaneously the feeding-jaw 59 ismoved toward the left, thereby feeding the work past the indentingtool. The feeding-jaw 60 then descends upon the work and the feeding-jaw 59 rises from the work. The feeding-jaw 60 is then moved to the left to again feed the work past the indenting-tool and the feeding-jaw 59 is moved to the right and then into contact with the work, the cycle of operations being repeated so long as the driving-shaft 6 continues to rotate. By adjusting the extent of movement imparted to the feed-slides the distance the work is fed before the indenting-tool again comes in contact with the work after having been actuated to indent a stitch interval can be varied and the tool caused to strike at such a distance from the indented stitch interval as to insure the mechanism for actuating the indenting-tool being held out of operation until the next stitch interval is brought beneath the tool.

Having thus indicated the nature and scope of my invention and having specifically described the preferred embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesl. A stitch-separating machine, having, in combination, an indenting-tool, and means controlled by the stitch'intervals for actuating the indenting-tool to indent the stitch intervals, substantially as described.

2. A stitch-separating machine, having, in combination, an indenting-tool, means for relatively moving the work and tool to locate the tool in the stitch intervals, and means controlled by the stitch intervals for actuating the indenting-tool when so located to indent the stitch intervals, substantially as described.

3. A stitch-separating machine, having, in combination, an indenting-tool, means for feeding the work, and means controlled by the stitch intervals for actuating the indenting tool to indent the stitch intervals when brought into position to be acted upon by the tool, substantially as described.

4. A stitch-separating machine, having, in combination, an indenting-tool, means for feeding the work, means for holding the tool in contact with the work and causing it to enter the stitch intervals,and means thrown into operation by the movement of the tool into a stitch interval for actuating the tool to indent the stitch intervals, substantially as described.

5. A stitch-separating machine, having, in combination, an indenting-tool, means for holding the tool in contact with the work and causing it to enter the stitch intervals, and means thrown into operation by the movement of the tool into a stitch interval for actuating the tool to indent the stitch intervals, substantially as described.

6. A stitch-separating machine, having, in combination, an indenting'tool, a spring for holding the tool in contact with the work and causing it to enter the stitch intervals, and means thrown into operation by the spring when the tool enters a stitch interval for actuating the tool to indent the stitch intervals, substantially as described.

7. A stitch-separating machine, having, in combination, an indenting-tool, a cam for actuating the tool, driving mechanism for the cam, means controlled by the stitch intervals for connecting the cam to its driving mechanism, and means to disconnect the cam from its driving mechanism, substantially as described.

8. A stitch-separating machine, having, in combination, an indenting-tool, a cam for actuating the tool, driving mechanism for the cam, means for holding the cam in position, means controlled by the stitch intervals for releasing the cam and connecting it to its driving mechanism, and means to disconnect the cam from its driving mechanism, substantially as described.

9. A stitch-separating machine, having, in combination, an indenting-tool, a cam for actuating the indenting-tool, driving mechanism for the cam, means for holding the cam in position, means controlled by the stitch intervals for releasing the cam and connecting it to its driving mechanism, means to disconnect the cam from its driving mechanism, and a brake for retarding the motion of the cam when disconnected, substantially as described.

10. A stitch-separating machine, having, in combinatioman indenting-tool, an actuating.- lever therefor, a cam for actuating the lever, driving mechanism for the cam, a clutch for connecting the cam to its driving mechanism, means for holding the indenting-tool in contact with the work and for moving its actuating-lever to actuate the clutch to connect the cam to its driving mechanism when a stitch interval has been brought beneath the in denting-tool, and means acting automatically to actuate the clutch to disconnect the cam from its driving mechanism, substantially as described.

11. A stitch-separatin g machine, having, in combination, an indenting-tool, an actuatinglever therefor, a cam for actuating the lever, driving mechanism for the cam, a clutch for connecting the cam to its driving mechanism, a stop for holding the cam in position, means for holding the indenting-tool in contact with the Work and for moving its actuating-lever to actuate the stop to release the cam and to actuate the clutch to connect the cam to its drivin g mechanism when a stitch interval has 

